The helicopter that crashed near Mount Everest in Nepal this morning and the bodies of five tourists on board have been found. The chopper, operated by Manang Air, had left Surke Airport for Kathmandu at around 10.04 am and lost contact at around 10.12 am. The aircraft carried five Mexican nationals whose identities had not been confirmed and the pilot, senior captain Chet B Gurung. The chopper went missing near a place called Likkhu.
According to reports, the helicopter hit a tree and slammed into the ground. The wreckage was spotted by locals, who alerted the authorities, PTI reported. Search teams later found the helicopter’s wreckage on foot. The bodies have been brought to Kathmandu for identification. The Prime Minister of Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has expressed his grief over the incident.
The chopper was returning to the capital after taking the passengers on a sightseeing tour of Mount Everest, the world’s tallest peak. The crash occurred in the Solukhumbu district, home to the world’s highest and other high-mountain peaks. The chopper was flying at about 12,000 meters when it lost contact, said Gyanendra Bhul, manager at Tribhuvan International Airport in the capital Kathmandu.
An investigation into the cause of the accident has been launched. It is possible that the flight had to change its route due to unfavorable weather conditions, an official from the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal told Xinhua. The incident comes months after a Yeti Airlines twin-engine ATR 72 aircraft carrying 71 people on board crashed in western Nepal, killing all of them in the country’s worst aviation disaster in three decades.
Nepal’s mountainous terrain is home to several small airports in remote hilly areas and near peaks that often are shrouded in clouds and difficult to approach. The nation also has a long history of aviation accidents caused by poor maintenance and inadequate pilot training.
